Lamar Odom Says He Left Taraji P. Henson for Khloe Kardashian

Lamar Odom admits in a new interview that he wishes he would’ve done things differently with ex-girlfriend Taraji P. Henson. The former NBA star dated the Empire actress in 2009 and eventually left her for Khole Kardashian. He says things ended with Henson because he was an “immature punk.”

The interview is part of a TV One docuseries called Uncensored. In it, he opens up about aspects of his personal life from his book, Darkness to Light: A Memoir. “I wish I would have done things different with her,” Odom said about his relationship with Henson. “She was a little older than me, but I learned a lot from her because that was the most significant relationship as a grown-up that I had with a black woman.”

“I used to carry her picture on the road with me,” he continued. “Don’t nobody know that, except for the dudes that played with me, but, she gave me inspiration. A black woman working like that, that’s just as good with her craft as I am in my craft.”

Odom goes on to say that his romance with Henson ended because he didn’t know how to handle his feelings for Kardashian. “Things ended with Taraji because of me being an immature punk, I didn’t know how to tell her that I was falling in love with another woman named Khloe Kardashian.”

In May, Entertainment Tonight spoke with Odom about his relationship with Kardashian. “I love you and thank you for being there for me when I couldn’t walk or talk,” he said, alluding to his drug overdose in 2015 that nearly killed him. “You know, when you marry someone after knowing them 30 days, I don’t think that love will go away. You know what I’m saying? A piece of paper that says we’re not together no more, that love will never go away.”

The memoir seems to have also caused some internal drama in the Kardashian family. In a preview for the new episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians this Sunday, Kardashian says about her mom, Kris Jenner, “Lamar is writing a book. In the book, I found out that Mom’s lying to me.”

Later in the preview, Kardashian has an exchange about the alleged lies with Scott Disick. “She literally thinks you’re gonna, like, come for her,” Disick says. Kardashian replies: “Guess what? I am.”